Starke County Commissioners Fail to Approve Dog Kennel Ordinance

Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

Starke County Commission President, Dan Bridegroom, said that the County might be back to square one this week after a dog kennel ordinance failed to gain approval for the third time.

Over 60 dog owners crowded into the County Annex building Monday night to disagree with many aspects of the proposed ordinance that was being presented by Administrator/Building Inspector, Bruce Williams.

After an hour of discussion and comments from the audience, the Commissioners, on a motion by Kathy Norem and seconded by Jennifer Davis, voted to deny the ordinance as presented, and sent it back to the Plan Commission.

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Starke County Library Board Seeks $2 Million for Renovation and Expansion

Curt Pletcher and Ellen Dodge

The Starke County Library Board asked the Starke County Council this week for permission to enter into a bond issue for $2 million to renovate and expand the Henry F. Schricker Library in Knox.

“We’ve had several focus groups and at each one of the meetings, the two main things that came up were more room for the children and meeting rooms,” said Library Director, Ellen Dodge. “Those are our two key points.”

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Server Crash Causes Pulaski County Recorder’s Office to Seek New Software

Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County Recorder Lynn Wilder received approval from the Commissioners to get quotes on a new recording system for her office because of issues with the current software. Wilder explained that a server crash completely disabled their main server, which provides service to many of the county offices. A temporary server has been in use since the crash, but this server is newer than the software on the computers accessing it, causing the recorder’s office to experience various issues in the service.

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Knox Community School Board Approves Student Handbook Changes

Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board members approved student handbook changes at all building levels at their meeting Monday night.

Elementary Principal, Glenn Barnes, requested that the handbook reflect changes for telephone use by the students. Beginning in August, students may have cell phones with the restriction that they are kept in backpacks during class time and on bus rides.
Also, students who ride the bus on longer bus routes will now be able to use electronic devices while riding to and from school.

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Starke United Golf Outing Set for Friday

The annual Starke United Golf Tournament is Friday, and you can still reserve a space. Executive Director, Julie Dessauer, said yesterday that Kersting’s Cycle Center is the hole-in-one sponsor. Hit that hole-in-one and ride off on a motorcycle. Also win a $500 VISA Card, golf clubs, or T.V.

Call 772-7506 for more information. The tournament is at the Chesapeake Run Golf Course in North Judson.

Child Passenger Safety Certification Course Begins Today

A Child Passenger Safety Certification Course at IU Health Starke Hospital begins today at 1:00 p.m. CT. The class is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Riley Hospital for Children. Police officers, firefighters, healthcare providers and other interested individuals from the area are invited to participate in this 32 hour course.

The classes go through Saturday June 25th. Upon completion of the course, newly certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will assist with a free car seat check up event Saturday in the I.U. Health Starke Hospital parking area.

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Pulaski County Recycling Center Seeks Grant Money for Repairs

Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Ed Clark of the Pulaski County Recycling Center approached the county commissioners yesterday, seeking approval of a $20,000 grant for the recycling center. The grant, which is actually the second installment of a $40,000 grant that is received each year, can be transferred to the recycling center at the discretion of the commissioners and the recycling center manager. The other half goes to fuel, tire repairs and other expenses. Clark said that there are several problems that the recycling center needs to fix, and the $20,000 would go to repairing these issues.

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Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department Investigates Accidental Shooting

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was called to an accidental shooting on Sunday, June 19th.

Robert Avery, of Winamac, told police that he saw a chipmunk on a woodpile they have by the house and decided he was going to shoot at it. According to police, his girlfriend, Dawn Vanaman, knew he was going to shoot at it but she was trying to keep her kitten from running into the line of fire and instead, Dawn got into the line of fire. Avery reportedly told police that parts of the projectile shot from a rifle hit Dawn in the neck area. Vanaman was airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. Vanaman told police that the shooting was an accident. Avery was reportedly drinking the day of the incident.

The reporting officer forwarded the case to the Detective’s Division for further review.

Culver Community Schools Tracking Direction of Monterey Elementary Students

Culver Community School Superintendent Brad Schuldt

Since the closing of the Monterey Elementary School, there have been rumors that some of the students will go to the Eastern Pulaski School system, instead of going into Culver Community.

Culver Community School Superintendent Brad Schuldt was asked if he anticipates losing students because of the closure.

“We expected this to be an issue, and in fact, when we did some financial planning, the numbers that we used did include a reduction of students over the next two years,” said Schuldt. “Of course the big question is going to be how many students will be moving. That is a number that is changing rather regularly. I know that some of the families have requested transcripts to be sent to a new school corporation. That’s pretty much how we can keep track of people who have actually made the move.”

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Mint Farmer Faces Possible Prison Sentence

Mike Materna is facing a possible prison sentence because he reportedly released hot water discharge into a ditch near his mint distillery, and that has many people “hopping mad.”

State Representative Tom Dermody (R-LaPorte) is one of the people who is outspoken in his feelings about this possibility. Dermody said, (and I quote),
“To be honest with you this scares me to death. This is nothing more than a rampaging federal government.”

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Knox City Council Discusses Horseback Riding in City Limits

Knox City Council (L to R) Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg, Ron Parker, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Mayor Rick Chambers, Attorney David Matsey, Ed Blue and Greg Matt

Although it has not become a huge problem so far, the Knox City Council members did discuss horseback riding in the city and parks at their most recent meeting.

Besides the problem of manure on the streets, there is a problem of riding in the parks. Horses can do a lot of damage if being ridden on a baseball field. In the discussion, Park Superintendent, George Byer, said there is evidence in the form of manure on the walking path, which makes it unpleasant for the walkers.

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Fire Officer Training this Weekend

The Washington Township Fire Department will be the location of a two-day training session for current fire officers and is open to firefighters.  Topics of discussion include leadership, decision-making, risk management, strategy and tactics, root cause problem solving, customer service, training, and more. The sessions will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 25th and 26th, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT.

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Lawsuit Sparks Talk of New Starke County Jail

Starke County Jail

Talk of a new Starke County Jail has surfaced again. The three Starke County Commissioners talked about visiting other county jails in Marshall, Fulton and Brown Counties to look at the configuration of the buildings.

The announcement of the fact that they would be touring these buildings was made during the June 16th meeting to discuss the Class Action Law Suit brought against the County by Jack Haut, a Starke County Inmate.

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Knox City Council Will Not Sell Sandy Acres Park

Knox City Council #2
Back Row: Mayor Rick Chambers, Ed Blue, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Greg Matt and Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker

A resounding “no” was given to Knox Mayor Rick Chambers when he asked the City Council members last week if they would be interested in selling the Sandy Acres Park. Chambers said that he had been approached about selling the property. Although not announcing who had approached him, it was assumed to be a business person wanting to locate, or re-locate on Heaton Street.

It was noted that in the Five Year Park Plan that there is not have enough park space. Recently, the Park Board has spruced up Sandy Acres and it has been used more according to Park Superintendent, George Byer.

USDA Summer Food Program Begins Today at North Judson-San Pierre Schools

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation will participate in the USDA Summer Food Service program. Meals will be provided to all children without charge who are 18 and younger.

Meals will be served in the North Judson-San Pierre Elementary School. Breakfast will be served from 7:45-8:15 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT. Adults may eat lunch at the Elementary School for a charge of $2.00.

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